Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-14
HERALD.
A RATTLESNAKE FARM.
How the Reptiles are Cultivated
Ter Market i'm Illinois.

X0r VaFket HI llihnOhSs
ssRattlesnake Forty" is the pleasant
title Of little farm near Galton, ILL.,,
which enjoys the unique distinction Of
being the only hot-bed for the cultiva-
ton of this charming reptile in the
United States. A use has been found
for the deadly rattlesnake, and conse-
quently demand has sprung up for
his ugly carcass, and Colonel Dan
Stover. the proprietor of sRattlesnake
Forty" has for the past two years, re-
ceived a handsome income from the
queer products of his farm. A Phil
adelphia firm is using large quanti
ties of the article in the prepara-
tion of patent medicine, and to this
firm Colonel Slower disposes of most
of his snakes. The farm is tract of
forty acres of virgin prairie. 1t is
surrounded by rail fence. In one
corner of the farm is Col. Stover's
residence, where l found this enter
prising snake cultivator one day few
weeks ago. The Colonel kindly asked
me to take walk over the ''forty."
L somewhat reluctantly accepted the
invitation, and calling in his junior
partner, Colonel Bill Dunn, and pro-
viding me with pair of heavy, high
topped boots and a stout stick, we
started. The sun was bright and
warm and we found the snakes en-
joying it. They were clustered around
the mounds which dot the entire tract
and which form their homes. The
rattlesnakes were not alone, for blue
racers and bull snakes kept
them company, but the rattlers
were in the majority, and con-
fess that trembled with fear
as we rambled among these reptiles,
whose bite meant death. But they
paid no attention to us except to fol-
low our movements with their ready
eyes. There must have been several
thousand rattlesnakes running on the
various mounds, some of them at
least five feet in length. Colonel Sto-
yer proceeded to give me some points.
s.Snake raisin'," he said, is not as
risky business as some folks might |
think for. They're not unpleasant
creatures when you once get acqualnt-
ed with 'em, an I've found that
they've good deal more sense than |
is commonly believed. They pear to |
be grateful when you treat 'em good,
an mine knows me just as well as my |
own children do, an they hardly eyer |
try to bite me. Somehow or anuther
allus liked to fool with snakes.
L alluss steered clear of the bitin'
end of the rattlers. howsumever.
But although I've handled snakes |
nearly all my life, an have allus had
"a sort O. hankerin' arter 'em, l didn't |
to make a business O. raj |
sins 'em until a few years ago, when |
I found that 1 could make a pretty
fair livin' out of it-beat regular farm |
farmin' anyhow. I've got contract |
now to furnish Philadelphia consarn |
with 250 rattlesnakes every season,
they givin' me 1928 apiece for 'em. 1t
don't cost nothin' to raise 'em, so you
see l clears over $500 a year out o
that contract besides orders | fills for
other parties. This Philadelphy firm
wants 'em for their lie, which is the
best cure for rheumatism in the world.
l knows, cause I've tried it. The OIL
der the snakes get the better an
stronger the lie is, SO them what l
ship have to be at least six years old
an four feet long. How do l raise
'em? Wall, they mostly raises them
selves. You saw all those little
mounds? That's where they live
in winter an breed in sum-
mer. There's thirty-seven of these
mounds on the forty, an in each one
they'll have about a d zen nests, an
at least ten eggs in each nest. You
see, my crop multiplies purity fast.
The eggs are about the size of a par
tridge's, but they're white an soft.
The old uns don't pay much attention
to 'em until they matches, an then |
they hustles roun' an catches flies an
bugs for 'em. Sometimes we have to
bring some of the nests up to the
house an hatch 'em under the cook
stove, an then the children has to do
the fv-catching. But they pear to
like to help take care Of the varmints.
The little rattlers are mighty quick
gettin' aroun', an five minutes arter
they hatch they'll show as much
spunk as the old uns. They never
get far away from their memmy,
though-when they have one
an 1 tell you she takes mighty
good care of 'em. I've hearn that
yarn about 'em runnin' into the old
un's mouth, but l never saw em do it.
Snakes is mighty good to have aroun'
the house for one thing. They keeps
the mice an rats an bugs all killed
off, an we amt bothered with bad
boys. Our neighbors don't come to
see us very often either, and my wife
don't like that part of it much, for she
likes to have company, but there's
money in the raisin' of 'em, so we
don't mind that so very much. The bus
mess is increasin' every year an I'm
a thinkin' it'll be about as profitable
as Kansas real estate speckerlation be-
fore long. ng."-[Caspar S. Yost in N. Y.
Mail.